Miguel Obando y Bravo
Encyclopedia
Miguel Obando y Bravo is a Nicaragua
n prelate of the Roman Catholic Church
. He was the Archbishop of Managua
from 1985 until his resignation on 12 March 2005. On 25 May 1985, he was selected by Pope John Paul II
to be cardinal
in Central America
. He was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI
. In 1986 Universidad Francisco Marroquín
honored Obando with an honorary doctoral degree due to his commitment to individual freedom.
regime in the late 1970s by expressing criticism in his pastoral letters as well as through the columns he wrote for the Boletín de la Arquidiócesis de Managua. He was critical of the corruption of the regime as it manifested itself through the government’s mismanagement of relief funds after the 1972 Managua Earthquake, and became an outspoken critic of the human rights
abuses carried out by the National Guard
. The Archbishop helped to delegitimize the regime by refusing to accept the Mercedes automobile Somoza gave him and rejecting invitations to attend official state ceremonies.
(FSLN) and the Somoza government on two occasions during Sandinista staged hostage-taking incidents. In a pastoral letter written in June 1979 the Archbishop spoke in favor of the Sandinistas' use of armed force to overthrow the Somoza regime and encouraged Nicaraguans not to fear socialism. As a result of his criticism of the Somoza regime, the Archbishop was often referred to by the government as “Comandante Miguel” (painting him as a Sandinista leader).
He opposed the "people's church" (radical clergy who supported liberation theology
), and banned the Misa Campesina Nicaragüense
(Nicaraguan peasants' mass
). He insisted on the canonical obligation of the clergy to refuse to undertake the exercise of civil power. Thus, the Jesuit priest Fernando Cardenal (a brother of the poet priest Ernesto Cardenal
), who refused to resign from his position as Minister of Education in the Sandinista government, was expelled from his order in 1984.
Obando opposed what he called the "godless communism
" of the Sandinistas. He criticized many of their policies, including military conscription and restrictions of press freedoms, and accused the Sandinistas of human rights violations. The Sandinistas, in turn, complained that he should have attacked US aid to the Contras
. Initially, Obando y Bravo had promised to the public that if human rights abuses on the part of the Contras were verifiably reported, he would denounce them. However, when many such abuses were reported by organizations (including Human Rights Watch
and several human rights groups established by clergy of the Catholic Church itself), he did not denounce them as he had pledged to. Instead, he travelled to the United States
in January 1986 and declared his support for the Contras thereby encouraging the U.S. Congress to provide them with military aid. This set the stage for a sharp confrontation between him and the Sandinista government. The Sandinistas, who already in July 1984 had expelled ten foreign priests (who had expressed solidarity with another religious figure who had been accused of being a contrarevolutionary), responded by rebuking Obando y Bravo repeatedly in public forums. Despite the popular support the Sandinistas enjoyed at the time, this episode certainly damaged that support, as Obando y Bravo was (as reported by journalist Stephen Kinzer) enduringly popular among Christian Nicaraguans.
. In particular, he has accused Jews of deicide
: "the leaders of Israel... mistreated [the prophets], beat them, killed them. Finally as supreme proof of his love, God sent his Divine Son; but they... also killed him, crucifying him." He also was criticized for saying "the Jews killed the prophets and finally the son of God.. such idolatry calls forth the heavens' vengeance."
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
n prelate of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. He was the Archbishop of Managua
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Managua
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Managua is a metropolitan diocese, responsible for the suffragan Dioceses of Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Juigalpa, León en Nicaragua and Matagalpa.-Ordinaries:...
from 1985 until his resignation on 12 March 2005. On 25 May 1985, he was selected by Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
to be cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
in Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
. He was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI
Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
. In 1986 Universidad Francisco Marroquín
Universidad Francisco Marroquín
Universidad Francisco Marroquín is a private, secular, university in Guatemala City, Guatemala. According to the school's website, "the mission of Universidad Francisco Marroquín is to teach and disseminate the ethical, legal and economic principles of a sociey of free and responsible persons."...
honored Obando with an honorary doctoral degree due to his commitment to individual freedom.
Somoza regime
Obando was a crucial figure in Nicaraguan politics. He became a vocal opponent of the corruption of the Anastasio SomozaAnastasio Somoza Debayle
Anastasio Somoza Debayle was a Nicaraguan leader and officially the 73rd and 76th President of Nicaragua from 1 May 1967 to 1 May 1972 and from 1 December 1974 to 17 July 1979. As head of the National Guard, he was de facto ruler of the country from 1967 to 1979...
regime in the late 1970s by expressing criticism in his pastoral letters as well as through the columns he wrote for the Boletín de la Arquidiócesis de Managua. He was critical of the corruption of the regime as it manifested itself through the government’s mismanagement of relief funds after the 1972 Managua Earthquake, and became an outspoken critic of the human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
abuses carried out by the National Guard
National Guard (Nicaragua)
In Nicaragua, the National Guard was a militia and a gendarmerie created during the occupation of that country by the United States from 1909 to 1933. It became notorious for human rights abuses and corruption under the regime of the Somoza family.-Creation:...
. The Archbishop helped to delegitimize the regime by refusing to accept the Mercedes automobile Somoza gave him and rejecting invitations to attend official state ceremonies.
Sandinistas in opposition
Obando served as an intermediary between the Sandinista National Liberation FrontSandinista National Liberation Front
The Sandinista National Liberation Front is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas in both English and Spanish...
(FSLN) and the Somoza government on two occasions during Sandinista staged hostage-taking incidents. In a pastoral letter written in June 1979 the Archbishop spoke in favor of the Sandinistas' use of armed force to overthrow the Somoza regime and encouraged Nicaraguans not to fear socialism. As a result of his criticism of the Somoza regime, the Archbishop was often referred to by the government as “Comandante Miguel” (painting him as a Sandinista leader).
Sandinistas in power
The Archbishop’s relationship with the Sandinistas altered dramatically by the early 1980s; he ultimately became one of the most vocal domestic opponents of the revolutionary government.He opposed the "people's church" (radical clergy who supported liberation theology
Liberation theology
Liberation theology is a Christian movement in political theology which interprets the teachings of Jesus Christ in terms of a liberation from unjust economic, political, or social conditions...
), and banned the Misa Campesina Nicaragüense
Misa Campesina Nicaragüense
The Misa Campesina Nicaragüense is Spanish-language Mass with words and music by Carlos Mejía Godoy, incorporating a liberation theology and Nicaraguan folk music. It was composed in the artistic community of Solentiname and first performed in 1975, its liturgical use being prohibited within a few...
(Nicaraguan peasants' mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
). He insisted on the canonical obligation of the clergy to refuse to undertake the exercise of civil power. Thus, the Jesuit priest Fernando Cardenal (a brother of the poet priest Ernesto Cardenal
Ernesto Cardenal
Reverend Father Ernesto Cardenal Martínez is a Nicaraguan Catholic priest and was one of the most famous liberation theologians of the Nicaraguan Sandinistas, a party he has since left. From 1979 to 1987 he served as Nicaragua's first culture minister. He is also famous as a poet...
), who refused to resign from his position as Minister of Education in the Sandinista government, was expelled from his order in 1984.
Obando opposed what he called the "godless communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
" of the Sandinistas. He criticized many of their policies, including military conscription and restrictions of press freedoms, and accused the Sandinistas of human rights violations. The Sandinistas, in turn, complained that he should have attacked US aid to the Contras
Contras
The contras is a label given to the various rebel groups opposing Nicaragua's FSLN Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction government following the July 1979 overthrow of Anastasio Somoza Debayle's dictatorship...
. Initially, Obando y Bravo had promised to the public that if human rights abuses on the part of the Contras were verifiably reported, he would denounce them. However, when many such abuses were reported by organizations (including Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
and several human rights groups established by clergy of the Catholic Church itself), he did not denounce them as he had pledged to. Instead, he travelled to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in January 1986 and declared his support for the Contras thereby encouraging the U.S. Congress to provide them with military aid. This set the stage for a sharp confrontation between him and the Sandinista government. The Sandinistas, who already in July 1984 had expelled ten foreign priests (who had expressed solidarity with another religious figure who had been accused of being a contrarevolutionary), responded by rebuking Obando y Bravo repeatedly in public forums. Despite the popular support the Sandinistas enjoyed at the time, this episode certainly damaged that support, as Obando y Bravo was (as reported by journalist Stephen Kinzer) enduringly popular among Christian Nicaraguans.
Allegations of Anti-Semitism
Due to some of his interpretations of the role of Jews in Christian scripture, Obando y Bravo has been criticized as anti-semitic by scholars including Noam ChomskyNoam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
. In particular, he has accused Jews of deicide
Deicide
Deicide is the killing of a god. The term deicide was coined in the 17th century from medieval Latin *deicidium, from de-us "god" and -cidium "cutting, killing")...
: "the leaders of Israel... mistreated [the prophets], beat them, killed them. Finally as supreme proof of his love, God sent his Divine Son; but they... also killed him, crucifying him." He also was criticized for saying "the Jews killed the prophets and finally the son of God.. such idolatry calls forth the heavens' vengeance."
External Links
- https://www.ufm.edu/cms/es/honorary-doctoral-degreesHonorary Doctoral Degrees, Universidad Francisco MarroquínUniversidad Francisco MarroquínUniversidad Francisco Marroquín is a private, secular, university in Guatemala City, Guatemala. According to the school's website, "the mission of Universidad Francisco Marroquín is to teach and disseminate the ethical, legal and economic principles of a sociey of free and responsible persons."...
]
See also
- The Catholic Church and the Nicaraguan RevolutionThe Catholic Church and the Nicaraguan RevolutionThe role of the Catholic Church in the Nicaraguan Revolution is best described as an internal struggle between Marxist supporters of liberation theology and opponents who sided with John Paul II and the conservative episcopal conference....